AP Language and Composition It’s Tuesday, 24 October 2017

Housekeeping

Ms. Trent is asking if the English department can help the band as they seek volunteers for a huge event on campus November 4. HHS is hosting the state marching festival, and 40 bands will be visiting HHS from 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM. Band members, parents, and friends are volunteering with different tasks throughout the day. If you need volunteer hours and want to support the Hamilton Band at the State Marching Festival on November 4th, you can pick the hours that work for you. Contact HamiltonBandFestivalVolunteers@gmail.com for a link to sign up.

The “checked practice” assignments

I would rather rewardyou for effort than punish you with a grade for some assignments. We will do a number of “practice” assignments of varying levels of difficulty. I don’t always expect you to have the “right” answers; indeed, there may be many “right” answers as a matter of opinion. What I look for is thought and effort. I can tell by looking at your work approximately how much thought and time was put into the assignment. Did you attempt to complete the assignment when you got to class, for example? This would definitely not demonstrate effort.

If you would like to contest a grade, simply bring the assignment in to me, with proper reasons, and we’ll discuss it.

+: A range (90-100%): Excellence and Effort. Time, effort, and diligence are apparent. All the work is completed; full support is offered for all answers; examples are given when needed. (25 = 22.5-25)

 : B range (80-89%): Adequate work and effort. The work was completed, but more support and effort and development should be apparent. You understood the assignment, but might have done better. (25 = 20-22.5)

 -: C range (70-79%): Average work and effort. An attempt was made to complete the assignment, but your understanding of it is not clear, effort may not be apparent and the work may be sloppy. (25 = 17.5-20)

U: D range (50-69%): unacceptable work. Your work is incomplete, rushed, or simply incorrect. This level or work in unacceptable for an AP-level class. (15)

Rhetoric

Rhetoric:

The traditional definition of rhetoric, first proposed by Aristotle, and embellished over the centuries by scholars and teachers, is that rhetoric is the art of observing in any given case the “available means of persuasion.”

From a Greek root which means “to put together,” synthesis is the process of bringing together information from various sources, written or visual, to develop a position on a particular topic and form a new whole.

Argumentative Synthesis aims to persuade, to convince readers of a claim. Some evidence (sources) is provided to support the claim, while other evidence (sources) may be used to represent views the writer rejects (commonly known as refutation).